| The report found these numbers would be even worse if not for the Mount Laurel doctrine that Christie wants to kill, given that much of the 13 percent of zoned land that allows more modest homes was created as a result of Mount Laurel lawsuits or fair share plans.
A New Jersey in which towns like Freehold Township and Bridgewater, where there has been major job growth and zoning laws allow dense development of offices and stores, can force the people who work in those jobs to commute long distances because they won't let homes for which there is a market demand be built by developers that have adequate financing and environmentally appropriate sites.
A New Jersey in which people with special needs can be excluded from communities because of people's prejudices against people with autism, physical disabilities, or mental illness.
A New Jersey in which wealthy municipalities can force the burden of housing their workers and educating their workers' kids on older suburbs and cities.
All of this comes based not on the market, but rather based on massive government regulation of property rights that is far from conservative. Zoning that forbids property owners from development of homes on less than an acre of land, in many cases with no environmental basis, while allowing astounding numbers of jobs distorts the market. Zoning that stops private non-profit and for-profit builders whether they are the ARC or Habitat for Humanity from carrying out their mission and helping people with money from religious congregations.
This is not the New Jersey that most New Jerseyans envision or want. We at FSHC will continue to push for a fair housing policy that meets our constitutional requirements by allowing homes for lower-income families, seniors, and people with special needs near jobs and transit.
The full report, "Evidence of Persistent Exclusionary Effects of Land Use Policy within Historic and Projected Development Patterns in New Jersey: A Case Study of Monmouth and Somerset Counties" is available here. |
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